Friday Night's Cooking and Baking Extravaganza

Last night, Bret and I were cooking and baking up a storm.  You see, even though Hanukkah ended this week, we are celebrating the holiday with Bret's family today.  While I cook plenty (and bake on occasion), I've never cooked the traditional foods typical for a Hanukkah dinner.  This year, Bret and I volunteered to cook most of the meal.  Originally, we were going to prepare for it a day or two before today but life (mostly work) got in the way.  So, after Bret ran a lot of errands (wrapping gifts, picking up the brisket, etc.) on his day off and I returned home from work, we got started and cooked for six straight hours.




Our Christmas tree has plenty of holiday gifts under it!

  Bret's sister will be preparing a light cheese and cracker appetizer and possibly contributing a dessert.  Bret's mom will be making her unbelievable sweet potato casserole.  But the rest of the dishes?  Well, they are up to us.  I wasn't quite sure what we should make but luckily, I have some generous food blogger friends who shared their family recipes with this clueless gal.  I have to give special thanks to Lara (for her grandmother's brisket recipe), Robin (for her rugelach recipe) and Julia (for her mother's kugel recipe).  If it weren't for the kindness and generosity of these ladies, there is no way I'd have known where to begin!

We decided to make all of the desserts and prepare/partially cook the rest of the dishes (except for the latkes, which we'll prepare completely today).  We are celebrating at Bret's parents' home and they luckily have two kitchens in their house!  The access to two ovens, sinks, dishwashers, etc. will help make things go smoothly and quickly...at least that's what I hope!  My plan is to share these recipes with you all during weeks to come but in the meantime, here's a small preview of what went on in the kitchen last night:



Rugelach dough - before it is quartered and refrigerated




Preparing the brisket for the oven...




Blanching the green beans...




Chopped onions, carrots and celery...




Four pounds of cooked brisket cooling...




Cranberry and raspberry filling for the rugelach...




Rugelach cooling...



Chocolate chip cookies cooling...

By the time you are reading this, I will probably be cooking, eating or opening Hanukkah gifts with Bret's family.  Here's to hoping that Hanukkah dinner went without a hitch!

Please don't forget to vote for me as Boston's Best Local Blogger here!